Tech Unicorn Deel Launches In New Zealand

Deel, a global hiring, payroll and employee experience platform that helps businesses hire contractors and employees in over 150 markets, today launches in New Zealand.

Founded in 2019, Deel makes global hiring accessible to all companies. It helps businesses easily enter new markets, hire talent wherever they are, at the same time managing teams, contractors, and payroll in multiple markets – all in one centralised platform. When a company hires workers, Deel takes on the responsibility to ensure the business is compliant with local laws.

Deel expands into New Zealand in the midst of an unprecedented workforce crisis. The NZ Reserve Bank states that there are now double the job vacancies than there are unemployed people in New Zealand. A June 2022 study by Hays, found that 91% of employers of professionals are experiencing a skills shortage. With 83% saying it will impact the effective operation or growth plans of their organisation, with this number being higher (96%) in New Zealand’s tech sector.

“In light of the chronic talent shortages in New Zealand, employers are looking beyond our borders for the right people. Previously there have been significant roadblocks to hiring international talent including lengthy entity set-up times averaging six-to-eight months, compliance risks, confusing local laws, complicated tax systems and hefty fines if you don’t get this right. Deel’s platform and compliance expertise solves these issues, giving businesses the tools to expand, hire, and pay teams more easily than ever before,” said Shannon Karaka, Managing Director, Australia and New Zealand.

Fast growing Tauranga-based LawVu, which develops software for organising in-house legal teams, is using Deel to add to its 120 strong workforce as it signs large international clients.

“LawVu has the capital and international customer opportunities to create a global significant business - we just need the staff to help make it happen. Deel enables us to expand rapidly into new international markets, confident that we can do so in an efficient and compliant manner that also creates a positive experience for new staff working remotely for a start up headquartered in New Zealand,” says Karly Boast, VP of People.

Hiring Trends

The rise of extended remote working as an option, alongside the challenge of cross border immigration introduced by the pandemic, has driven a new global hiring movement. According to Deel’s latest data, the most popular countries that NZ businesses are hiring overseas talent from include the United States, UK, Philippines and Australia.

Additionally, the top roles that New Zealand companies are hiring for are software developers, digital designers, software engineers and sales team members.

NZ’s talent is highly sought after by overseas companies. The USA, Australia, UK, Canada and Singapore are the top countries currently hiring NZ talent.

Research from Kea New Zealand, who have formed a strategic partnership with Deel, shows 60% of Kiwis living offshore want to remain connected to New Zealand and support New Zealand businesses to grow. Kea Global CEO Toni Truslove says being able to work for a Kiwi company while living offshore is one way to do that.

“Hiring offshore Kiwi allows companies to tap into a community of people who understand the New Zealand culture and business landscape, but also understand the landscape of the market they are based in. This is a huge advantage when it comes to growing a team offshore.”

Deel also provides payroll services that make it easy to pay employees and contractors globally, in their preferred currency, in one bulk payment, and with just a click. The platform supports 120+ currencies, and contractors have access to 15 different withdrawal options ranging from local payment networks to cryptocurrency.

Globally, Deel serves 9,000+ customers, including Airwallex, Coinbase, Dropbox and Shopify.

Deel has raised US$630 million dollars in total from venture capitalists such as Andreessen Horowitz and Y Combinator. It raised US$425 million in October 2021, valuing Deel at US$5.5 billion, making it the highest-valued company in the global hiring, payments, and compliance space.

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